


Come and Light My Eyes

by Kalcifer



Category: Friends at the Table (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, F/F, but much looser than the other one
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-18
Updated: 2021-02-19
Packaged: 2021-03-14 13:00:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29542731
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kalcifer/pseuds/Kalcifer
Summary: Hella knows her family is cursed, so when it comes to steal her breath, she's ready. She's not prepared for the curse to stick around.
Relationships: Adelaide Tristé/Hella Varal
Comments: 1
Kudos: 4





	Come and Light My Eyes

**Author's Note:**

> In case it's not clear from the summary, this is 1. the other thing I had planned for this month before my brain decided to shut down instead and 2. based on [this comic](https://m.tapas.io/episode/523242).

Hella’s father never took off his bracelet. 

It took Hella years to realize that that was strange. After all, he was a soldier. He should always have some of his armor on. It was just who he was.

It was only when she got old enough to learn the surest killing blows that she began to wonder why it was his wrist he was so careful to protect. It wasn’t even his sword hand.

When he caught her staring at the bracelet, he lifted her up and put her in his lap, even though she was eight and way too grown-up for that kind of thing now. “This is Ordennan steel,” he told her. “It’s a different kind of armor from my platemail.”

Hella ran her fingers along it. The metal was warm from so long spent sitting against his skin. “It feels the same.”

“But Ordennan steel is special. It destroys any magic that tries to come near it.” For a second, her father looked very tired. “It’s the best way to escape a curse.”

“A curse?” Hella mostly knew about curses from cautionary tales and the scary stories her father threatened her with when she didn’t want to go to bed. It was hard to connect something as fuzzy and distant as that with her strong, solid father.

But rather than laugh it off, he nodded. “A bloodline curse, one our family has had for generations. It wants to steal your breath the day you come of age.”

Hella squeezed her father’s hand. “That’s so scary!”

“But we’re smart. As long as we have Ordennan steel around, the curse can’t hurt us.” He patted her head reassuringly. “Besides, you’re stronger than some silly curse, right?”

“Yeah!” She definitely would be by the time she grew up, anyway.

“You see? There’s nothing to worry about.” He grinned mischievously. “Except… oh no! It’s an earthquake!” He jostled his legs under Hella, making her scramble to keep her balance.

And maybe she was eight now, but this was basically training, so it couldn’t hurt to sit up here a little longer.

* * *

Hella opened the first of her 18th birthday presents the evening before her actual birthday. Of course, calling it a gift was sugar-coating things. It was mostly an obligation.

Her father had at least taken the time to look for something nice. The bracelet was just as sturdy as his, but with a pattern of swords inlaid over the steel. Hella could almost see herself wearing it voluntarily.

She retreated into her room not long after putting it on. She didn’t know how the curse would manifest, but she figured she’d want to be alone when it did.

She sat polishing her armor until a sudden chill in the air and a soft clicking sound told her that it was officially her birthday. She looked up to see a woman with dark brown skin wearing a pale blue dress. “You don’t look like a curse,” Hella blurted.

The woman smiled, and Hella wished she could take the words back, not just because they were foolish but because they were untrue. It was easy to see now that this woman was dangerous.

“I thought we could try the fun way first. But if you’d rather be more traditional…” Her shape blurred until she was only visible as an absence, a space void of light and life. When she spoke, her voice seemed to creep into Hella’s ears from every corner of the room at once. “Now. Come to me.”

Hella raised her sword. “Not going to happen.”

“Really,” the curse said. Then it recoiled. Its shape solidified back into the woman from before, her eyes narrow and fixed on Hella’s bracelet.

Hella laughed, hoping it sounded less nervous than she felt. “Shouldn’t you have learned by now that we aren’t going to let you get away with that?”

“Oh, don’t worry,” the woman said. “I’m only here for you. And I’m willing to wait for you as long as I need to.”

“Right,” Hella said slowly. “Have fun with that, I guess. I’m going to bed. Don’t feel obligated to hang around to say goodbye.”

“Good night, then,” the curse said. “And may I be the first to wish you a happy birthday.”

* * *

Hella knew better than to assume the previous night had been a dream, but that didn’t mean she was any better prepared to wake up and find the curse peering at the map on Hella’s wall. Her father had never warned her that it might linger like this.

She resolved to ignore it. If it could do anything to her, it would have done it already. This was just a sad attempt to psych her out. She wasn’t going to give it the satisfaction.

This plan encountered its first hurdle when she went into the kitchen and her parents wished her a happy birthday. Neither showed any reaction to the curse trailing after her.

Hella’s gaze flickered to the curse, which lifted its hand in a casual wave. “Don’t worry, I don’t intend to split my attentions. You’re the only one who can see or hear me.”

Hella gritted her teeth and pointedly focused on putting together her breakfast instead. She turned away to grab a drink, and when she looked back, the shape of a skull was burnt into her toast.

“Whoops,” the curse said, sounding entirely unapologetic. “All this negative energy has to go somewhere.”

Hella slathered her toast in butter until she could no longer see its surface.

The rest of breakfast passed similarly. Hella tried to follow along with her parents’ conversation without reacting to the curse’s commentary or the way it moved her cutlery each time she looked away. Her nerves were wearing thin, though, and as soon as she finished eating she stomped back into her room.

As soon as she’d closed the door, she whirled on the curse. “What do you want?”

The curse shrugged. “I told you. I’m here to stop your breath, and if I can’t do it the traditional way, I just have to get more creative.”

“And what about at the end of the day when you still haven’t killed me? What then?” Hella crossed her arms.

“Then I just keep trying as long as it takes. I don’t like losing, you see.”

Hella frowned. “I thought you were only supposed to take effect on the day I ‘came of age’ or whatever.”

“And here I am. And as long as I stick around, it’s all one continuous effect, right?” The curse smiled. “Incidentally, since it seems like we’re going to get very close, you can call me Adelaide.”

It had never occurred to Hella that the curse might have enough sense of identity to have a name. Sure, it - she - looked like a woman, but she was only supposed to exist for one day to be annoying, and you didn’t need much self-awareness for that.

Assuming, of course, this wasn’t all part of her plan to get deeper into Hella’s head. Distracting her at a crucial moment might count as killing her, depending on how strict the rules of the curse were.

Either way, her plan hadn’t changed. She just had to ignore Adelaide until Adelaide got bored and left her alone. She took a deep breath and began gathering her armor.


End file.
